Follow an asset beyond the day you bought it.

Keep asset costs, dates and depreciation assumptions together across reporting periods. Make the treatment visible rather than losing the asset inside a general expense total.

For People and businesses recording longer-lived equipment.

Distinguish equipment from everyday costs

A laptop, camera or piece of machinery can serve more than one reporting period. Before applying a method, identify the item, purchase cost, start date and business use. Keep supporting invoices and any later changes. The depreciation workspace organises schedule information; it does not mean that every purchase must use the same treatment.

Make assumptions explicit

Method, effective life, timing and private-use allocation can all affect a schedule. Rules for immediate deductions or pooled assets vary and can change. Review the relevant country and year before relying on a calculation. The example below uses a deliberately simple straight-line division to explain a schedule, not to recommend a legal method or rate.

Keep the schedule current

Assets can be sold, written off, replaced or moved into a different use. Record the event rather than allowing a schedule to continue without explanation. A freelancer may track a small number of devices; a workshop may have a larger equipment register. In either case, the connection between the schedule and original asset evidence matters more than a neat total.

Before you begin

Asset description and cost evidence
Date first used
Method and life assumptions to verify
Business use and later disposal events

This example is not a prescribed tax depreciation calculation. It excludes residual value, part-year timing, pools and special deduction rules.

Everyday examples

A freelance photographer

Keeps camera and accessory purchases distinct for later review.

A builder

Tracks a major tool separately from routine consumables.

A small office

Maintains a history of laptops as devices are replaced.

Understand a straight-line example

Cost divided by entered years, with zero residual value and full-year use. No legal depreciation rate is selected. Enable JavaScript to change the example figures.

Questions

Does this calculator choose the right asset life?

No. You enter a hypothetical life. Verify the appropriate treatment for your asset, country and year.

What if I sell an asset early?

Record the disposal and have the remaining schedule and any adjustment reviewed.